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  • Kadir Yahya: Next FAS Chief Must Be A Game Changer

    Kadir Yahya: Next FAS Chief Must Be A Game Changer

    Kadir Yahaya has had enough of the exchange of words between the two camps tussling for votes at the upcoming Football Association of Singapore (FAS) election.

    Within hours of the official call for election coming from the FAS’ Jalan Besar headquarters on Saturday morning, there were questions over the intentions of some running for office, with character and ability also called into question, and apologies soon demanded.

    Enough.

    “Like it or not, there is a tsunami coming to Singapore football. It’s best to stop bickering and remain focused,” the former Singapore international told The New Paper.

    Kadir, one of the most respected voices in local football, has spent ages thinking about the future of the sport here.

    Long before Hougang United chairman Bill Ng announced his candidacy alongside his Tampines Rovers counterpart Krishna Ramachandra, and even before the FAS finalised its new constitution to allow for a democratic election of its leadership, he had already drawn up a list.

    It was not a list of who can be president to lead football, but what a president has to do to drag the sport out of the doldrums.

    Action plans and policy ideas have to be the focus of anyone aspiring to sit in the sport’s highest office, Kadir told TNP in November, and his stance has not changed, even as more names are being associated with either camp.

    Sources reveal that Dr Dinesh Nair, chairperson of FAS’ medical committee, is in Lim Kia Tong’s camp along with officials from National Football League (NFL) clubs – Darwin Jalil (Eunos Crescent) and Albert Ng (Kembangan United).

    Ng’s camp also includes NFL officials – Harman Ali (GFA) and Md Zaki (Kaki Bukit Sports Club) – along with Tampines vice chairman Chris Wong.

    “I don’t have a preference yet, but whoever wins the election shouldn’t be slapping themselves on the back, because there is a huge task ahead.

    “I hope the president is a hands-on man, maybe even one who takes football as a full time job and is able to make important decisions immediately,” said Kadir, 47.

    He lists foresight, ambition, and straightforwardness as key attributes for the man who will helm the sport.

    “We are at a critical juncture in our football, and if we don’t improve in the next five years, our realistic opponents will be the so-called minnows, countries like Bhutan, Mongolia and Timor Leste. We need a really solid plan,” said the man who led Singapore’s Under-15s to a bronze medal at the 2010 inaugural Youth Olympic Games.

    “I hope he asks the hard questions – of where our football really is compared to our neighbours – and that football is his only agenda.

    “If there are failures in the execution of his plans, he goes public with the facts and not sugar-coat things and hide,” he added.

    “It is important that we analyse what went wrong, be transparent about it, identify what can be changed, then go again. I think the public will accept that approach, and appreciate it.”

    Kadir wants an FAS leadership that understands the average Singapore fan, aims beyond the AFF Suzuki Cup and pulls out all the stops for young footballers to realise their dream.

    “We are at a critical juncture in Singapore football. We are still just focused on the Suzuki Cup and South-east Asia Games. We need to aim higher, but our standards are dropping. There is a lot of work to be done,” said Kadir.

    “This president can be a game changer, he’ll be the first one to be elected… and I hope we get the right man.”

    KADIR’S 10-POINT WISHLIST

    1. President must know the ground intimately.

    2. Aim higher, look beyond the Suzuki Cup and SEA Games.

    3. Inspire young footballers to dream.

    4. Give recognition to icons.

    5. Set up the National Training Centre.

    6. Engage ex-internationals to train youngsters.

    7. Engage amateur footballers through tournaments and even those who play five-a-side football.

    8. Find able successors quickly

    9. Find foreigner talent who can help Singapore.

    10. Name a recognised football figure as a spokesperson.

     

    Source: www.tnp.sg

  • Legends Share The Limelight As 28th SEA Games Open

    Legends Share The Limelight As 28th SEA Games Open

    After months of planning and anticipation, the 28th SEA Games kicked off yesterday evening with a spectacular opening ceremony that drew more than 40,000 people to the new National Stadium, where Singapore sporting legends including C Kunalan, Glory Barnabas, K Jayamani and Ang Peng Siong were thrust into the limelight alongside the country’s current generation of athletes.

    Various ASEAN leaders, including Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, were present as Singapore President Tony Tan declared the Games officially open, to raucous cheers.

    The three-hour extravaganza of stunning light displays and singing was divided in five acts, showcasing the cultures and traditions of the region as well as the essence of unity, imagination, youth and the efforts of local sporting greats who had once done the nation proud.

    And it was perhaps nostalgia that rippled through the crowd of young and old, with families in tow, as parents told their children of a time when the Games first starred at the old National Stadium in 1973, when sprint legend C Kunalan dashed up the steps with the torch, holding on stoically while the flames burnt his hand.

    Or of the 1983 Games, and again in 1993 when the biennial event was previously held here, when swimming’s golden girl, Joscelin Yeo, completed a nine-gold feat at the Toa Payoh pool.

    As the SEA Games return to Singapore after 22 years, the National Stadium, along with 30 other competition venues around the island, will bear witness as the Republic’s national athletes write their stories of triumph, tears and joy in what is also the biggest event yet as Singapore marks her Golden Jubilee.

    As Singapore ushered in the region’s sporting tournament in fine fashion and welcomed over 7,000 athletes and officials here, more than 400 gold medals will be handed out before the Games close on June 16.

    Yesterday, from giant trees and orang utans, to flying cranes, turtles and trains, oohs and aahs echoed through the stadium as the giant props came flying through the venue during the five-act show, while Nila the Games mascot provided the “cute” factor, parachuting into the stadium to the delight of the young ones in the crowd.

    Amid the celebrations, Singapore also took time to pay tribute to its founding father, former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, in a moving video tribute on his contributions to and thoughts on sports in Singapore. Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, said in his speech at the opening ceremony: “On this night, we also remember to pay tribute to Singapore’s founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew. Mr Lee played a key part in developing a sporting Singapore. He officially opened our former National Stadium in 1973, when Singapore first hosted the SEA Games. Tonight, we are gathered together once again at the same site in Kallang, but now in a different stadium — in this majestic Sports Hub.”

    Touted as the curtain-raiser for the SG50 celebrations, the SEA Games’ main attraction will certainly be the 749 national athletes gunning to win over 50 gold medals to celebrate the nation’s 50th birthday. So it was no surprise that Team Singapore drew the loudest cheers as it made its way into the stadium, as the country and the show paid tribute to the country’s sporting legends, who featured alongside the star attraction of the games, swimmer Joseph Schooling.

    But the whistles were reserved for football’s favourite son Fandi Ahmad, the final torchbearer in the inter-generational pairs of current and ex-athletes running the final lap in the stadium. Linking up with eldest son Irfan, the duo lit the Games cauldron at the Kallang waterfront, kicking off what was the start of the 36-sport event.

    Talk ahead of the Games had some questioning the choice of Fandi — who has never won a Games gold medal — as the candidate to light the cauldron, but a return to the spiritual home of Singapore football was a special one for the 53-year-old.

    “This is my greatest moment,” he said. “I’ve won lots of titles here and there, but this is the greatest one. This is even much more important than scoring a goal in the Malaysia Cup Final. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. (And) it is special doing this with my son because in handing over, I hope he will represent the country in several years to come and hopefully, he can guide other youngsters to score.”

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com